This one is more courtesy of a buddy of mine, but I can’t say I totally disagree.

As many of you will recall, this past summer was one of turmoil for the NFL. Certainly not as bad as that of the NBA, but tumultuous nonetheless. Once the lockout broke and pre-season activities ramped up, news of player trades and signings was constantly streaming. The Eagles particularly seemed interested in building a team in three weeks and assembled what many dubbed a Dream Team of free agents and high profile trades in very little time. It seemed a no brainer that they would dominate the NFC East and run straight to the Super Bowl.

But then they started playing actual games. And sucked. And gave rise to this Pearl Jam/card pairing:

Title: I Got IdAlbum:Merkin Ball EP (A-Side)Correlation: You might need to be a bit of a Pearl Jam aficionado to get this one. “I Got Id” is already a bit of an odd song in that it only appears on this single EP and only features two actual Pearl Jam members (Eddie Vedder on vocals and Jack Irons on drums) as it was recorded with Neil Young during his Mirror Ball sessions (on which all members of Pearl Jam were heavily involved). The other odd part is that this song usually goes by a different title amongst the band and fans: I Got Shit. And THAT is where the correlation lies. The Eagles thought the 2011 season would be wildly successful after assembling what they thought was an all-star squad. But once games actually started, it turns out they just had shit. I suppose you could also argue that the unrequited love theme of the lyrics relates to the fans in that they constantly support and root for a team that just never pulls it all together for a championship season.

As a side session single during the height of Pearl Jam’s attempt to shy from the spotlight, there is no official music video for “I Got Id”. But here is a fan-shot live video from a Philadelphia show. This was actually filmed during the very last event in the famed Philadelphia Spectrum, so maybe a 76ers or Flyers card would have been more appropriate, but work with me here.

Oh, and if you’re an Eagles fan and this post angers you: feel free to submit an official complaint when you’re celebrating your first Super Bowl victory. Whenever that may be…

I feel like I should have an epic Pearl Jam post seeing as how this past weekend was the Pearl Jam Twenty destination weekend in Wisconsin (and no, I didn’t get to attend), celebrating the band’s 20th anniversary. But alas, you just get another half-assed post that kinda, sorta relates a Pearl Jam song to a card.

Lucky you.

Title: LeathermanAlbum:Given to Fly CD Single (B-Side)Correlation: This one should actually be pretty obvious. The song is called Leatherman and this is a leather “card” of Emmitt Smith. See the connection? No? Well, it’s not a cryptic message, so read it again. And actually, I think there was an insert set a few years back from Donruss actually called “Leatherman,” but I’m not positive about that. I also don’t have any, so this is my best effort.

As a B-Side, there certainly aren’t many video options. Especially when that song also happens to be a rather rare live song. But have no fear, 1&G barely knows the definition of “No” and likes to deliver. So here is a live video for your viewing pleasure.

And if you needed any other football correlation, please note that Eddie is wearing a vintage Walter Payton jersey. But please don’t mind the two bottles of wine by his monitor.

In this edition of Pearl Jam meets Sports Cards, we take a look at a song off PJ’s newest studio album, Backspacer. The original song doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with basketball, but for at least one night, Eddie Vedder changed all of the lyrics to reference Seattle’s lost NBA franchise, the Supersonics.

This song could really be paired with any card of a Seattle basketball player, but I opted for this Kevin Durant rookie auto for two reasons. 1) Durant’s arrival and almost instant departure from Seattle and subsequent success in Oklahoma City are a big reason Supersonic fans lamented the loss of their team. 2) I just sold this card on eBay today.

Title: SupersonicAlbum:BackspacerCorrelation: I guess I just explained this above. Eddie is a big basketball fan and although he is loyal to his original hometown Bulls, he also shows fair support for his second hometown’s now lost team.

There is once again no official music video, but I did find a pretty decent live video from the night in Seattle when Eddie changed all of the lyrics to reference the Supersonics. Enjoy.

The band might be getting older, but they still pack a lot of energy into their live shows.

Here’s another pretty easy one for a Pearl Jam/sports card combination. Granted, it would be a bit more convincing if Emmitt was actually inside a classroom, but I still think it works. I know somewhere I have an old baseball or football card with the athlete in a classroom. One of those “Staying in School is Cool” propaganda cards. But I don’t particularly feel like rummaging through boxes and boxes of old cards when I have a suitable replacement at hand. So Emmitt posing outside of his alma mater (Escambia High in Pensacola, FL) will have to do.

Title: JeremyAlbum:TenCorrelation: “[Emmitt] spoke in class today…” I also don’t doubt that Emmitt would clock someone in the jaw with a surprise left if he found out that person had called him a harmless little ————.

Although he is pretty short.

There aren’t many Pearl Jam songs that have official music videos, but here is another one. Enjoy.

And just for the record, this song and video have nothing to do with a school shooting or public violence. A key shot was taken out of the video for censorship. If you’re confused, watch what motions Eddie makes just before the 4:00 mark. Then you’ll get it.

Well, I did it. I’m still not sure exactly how to feel about it, but it’s done. No do-overs. It’s final.

I bought a box of baseball cards.

I bought a box of Allen & Ginter baseball cards.

And now I will probably never look at life the same again.

As a guy who hasn’t really collected actual baseball cards since he was about 8 years old, I’ve always felt like a bit of an outsider in Blog-o-Land. Sure, there are plenty of football card blogs, or at least multi-sport blogs, to keep me occupied in the little time I have to surf the Blog Wave. But there’s just something about baseball cards. It must be what all other pies feel when Apple Pie shows up to the party.

And damn if I don’t love me some apple pie.

So after three years of reading blogs gush over baseball cards and specifically Allen & Ginter baseball cards, I finally caved. I really wanted to pull the trigger when 2011 Gint-a-Cuffs signups were underway, but the PayPal bankroll wasn’t much at the time and I talked myself out of it. So in typical Dave fashion, I’m showing up late with my apple pie to a party where almost everyone has already had their fill of apple pie.

[Note to self: stop writing blog posts on an empty stomach]

But there are some saving graces. Because I didn’t get in on the Gint-a-Cuffs action, there will not be a pack-by-pack breakdown. I may post a mock Ginty score, but it won’t matter to anyone but me. I also won’t talk on end about how much I love or hate certain inserts, lament over short prints, or beg and plead to the masses for the 9 minis I need to complete the set. I’ll probably post a standard box break review, list some cards on eBay or a trade list, and call it a day. And the last saving grace, and to give this post some legitimacy as a First and Goal post, I can also relate this purchase to a Pearl Jam song. Go me.

Title: HabitAlbum:No CodeCorrelation: This one is strictly lyrically based. With regards to buying Allen & Ginter, these could easily be my thoughts verbatim:

See it happen to a couple of friends
See it happen and the message it sends
Takin off for what’s an obvious fall
Just to see what all the fuss is about

And as far as what you might be thinking at home, especially those of you who also aren’t all that into baseball cards or Allen & Ginter specifically, this is probably a good sumation of your thoughts:

It’s not your way… not your way
It’s not your way

Never thought you’d habit [repeated a whole bunch…]

No official music video, but here is a fairly decent live video for your viewing pleasure.

Speaking as a child of the 90s…

So yeah. I did it. I admit. There’s no turning back now. And I don’t feel terribly guilty about it.

Sue me.

Or just be on the look out for an official 1&G product review stating what everyone already knows anyway.

In looking to keep the Pearl Jam/card combination train rolling, here is another song/card pairing. This one has less to do with the song lyrics or title and more to do with the album cover. I’ll explain.

Title: AliveAlbum:TenCorrelation: As I said, this one has essentially nothing to do with the actual song, so maybe it’s cheating a bit. It does, however, have everything to do with the cover of the “Alive” single. Still not following? Click here. Now do you get it? Emmitt may not be 2D and his nickname was, to the best of my knowledge, never “Stickman”, but I think he does an awful good impression all the same.

And now for your viewing pleasure, I present the “Alive” music video. I won’t be able to show a video for every song/card pair, but I’m 2/2 so far. Oh, and a bit of trivia, the bass player, Jeff Ament’s dad can be seen crowd surfing in this video. Pretty cool stuff.

Oh yeah. That’s nice. I don’t know how long I’ll keep this going, but it is already turning out to be fun.

If you were to take a look into my office/man cave in my home, you would probably notice three things (in no particular order):

1) I like sports cards

2) I like music

3) I like beer

What you may not know is that I also enjoy combining those interests whenever possible. Sometimes I drink beer while organzing cards. Sometimes I listen to music while scanning cards. Sometimes I drink beer while listening to music. And when I’m feeling particularly spry, I’ll drink beer AND listen to music AND sort cards. Holy cow! Okay, so that sort of multi-tasking isn’t exactly wife-esque, but it still counts.

No, really.

It does.

It’s in that vein that I thought I’d try something new. Actually, to be completely honest, I have to give props to mariner1 of Emerald City Diamond Gems fame for this idea. What if I took cards and music and paired them up in blog form?!? Can you imagine the possibilities? Great Scott! So that is what I will try to do over the next however-long-it-takes-me-to-run-out-of-ideas-or-get-bored-with-the-idea months. Technically I did this a few times before (Setting Forth, Here I Go Again, and Get Off My [Card]), but I like mariner1’s idea of trying to stick with Pearl Jam songs. Some of the connections may get fuzzy, but we’ll do what we can.

To kick things off, we’re going with the first card/song pair that came to mind:

Title: Do the EvolutionAlbum:YieldCorrelation: This one should be pretty obvious. “Do the Evolution”…Emmitt Smith early and later. Got it? If you want more correlation, consider that Emmitt Smith also wears pants, makes plans, and those ignorant Indians (Washington Redskins?) got nothing on him.

And now for your viewing pleasure (or confusion), I present the music video for “Do the Evolution”: